Part 31 (1/2)

'I have offered you money, Louisa. Any amount you would like to name. His voice was growing impatient.

She shook her head. 'Money is of no use to me.'

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'Then anything else that it is in my power to give. Jewels. Land.' He frowned. 'I have already offered you my t.i.tle and my own hand!'

There was a small cry from Venetia behind him. 'Roger! You promised me!'

He ignored her; his eyes were fixed directly on Louisa's face. 'Well, what is it you want?'

She shook her head. 'I don't think there is anything you can give me that I want, my lord.' Her voice dropped suddenly to a whisper. 'Except revenge.

Venetia had thrown herself sobbing towards Katherine, who leant across to take her sister-in-law in her arms. At Louisa's last words, which had somehow cut through Venetia's tears, they both turned towards her and fell suddenly silent. The boat was completely quiet. The only sound was the gentle rustle of reeds along the bank. Louisa held his gaze. Then at last she nodded. 'I have the bottle here,' she said quietly. She slipped her hand into the pocket of her dress and drew out the silk-wrapped parcel.

His eyes widened hungrily. 'And you are going to give it to me!' He smiled in triumph.

She looked down at her hand thoughtfully. 'No,' she said at last. She glanced up at him again. 'No, I'm not going to give it to you. I am going to give it to the G.o.ds you claim to serve. You will never set eyes on this again, my Lord Carstairs. Never!'

With one quick movement she hurled the bottle as hard as she could out into the darkness. There was a pause as every person on the boat held their breath, then a small splash far out in the river.

'No!' Carstairs threw himself towards the rail. He hung over it, staring frantically at the water. 'Do you realise what you have done?' He turned suddenly and his eyes were blazing with rage. 'Do you? Do you realise what you've done?' He caught her by the shoulders and shook her hard.

'Hey! Wait! Take your hands off her!' David Fielding grabbed his arm as Mohammed stepped forward, his face set. He had his own knife in his hand.

'No!' Katherine let out a scream. 'No! Someone is going to get hurt! David, be careful! Let her go, Roger. What's the use? It's gone!' She pulled herself to her feet. 'For pity's sake! This has all 340.

gone on long enough. Louisa, I think you should go. You've made your point!' She broke off suddenly and clutched at her stomach with a groan.

'Kate?' David Fielding's cry was anguished. 'My love, what is it?'

She straightened up, her face white, and staggered back to the cus.h.i.+ons. 'I'm all right.' She was breathing heavily. 'Louisa, you should go.'

Louisa had stepped back towards the rail, tearing herself away from Carstairs' restraining hands. 'I'm going.' She threw the words over her shoulders as she turned to her escort. 'Mohammed, will you help me into the boat -'

Her words were interrupted by a piercing scream. Katherine had doubled up once more. 'My baby! It's my baby!' She tried to stand, reaching frantically towards her husband.

Louisa stopped at the top of the ladder and turning round she saw with horror a red stain spreading on Katherine's skirt. For a moment n.o.body moved. Then Venetia put her hand to her head and fainted back onto the silken cus.h.i.+ons. No one took any notice of her. Louisa stared round the a.s.sembled men in horror. They were paralysed, staring at the agonised woman and at the pool of blood appearing on the deck of the boat below her skirts.

'Carry her below into a cabin!' She stepped forward, pus.h.i.+ng Carstairs aside. 'Now! Quickly!'

'We'll go back to the Lotus!' David Fielding looked round wildly for his own servants. 'She should be there.'

'There's no time. Take her below, David. My lord,' she turned to Carstairs with a contemptuous stare. 'See that the other men leave the boat. Presumably they can go across to the Lotus. Mohammed, will you go and fetch Lady Forrester to help me? Venetia, pull yourself together. You will have to stay to help, too. Do it!' She shouted at the stunned faces around her as Katherine let out another scream. The sound sent the men scurrying in all directions and eventually it was Carstairs himself who pushed aside David, who seemed paralysed with shock, picked Katherine up and carried her towards the saloon where he laid her on the cus.h.i.+oned divan.

Coming face to face with Louisa who had followed them as he turned away from the sobbing moaning woman, he gave her one quick cold glance then he pushed past her and went back out onto the deck.

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Venetia, white as a sheet and tearful was standing in the door- way, clearly terrified of entering the cabin. 'Tell someone to heat water for us,' Louisa called, 'and find some clean sheets.'

Katherine let out another groan as David appeared in the doorway, his face as white as paper. 'What can I do?'

Louisa glanced up at him. 'Go and help Venetia bring water.'

She turned back to Katherine and with soothing words began to try and make her more comfortable. Somehow she managed to help her sit up so she could undo the impossibly tight gown and draw it up over the woman's head before settling her back on the pillows. Katherine's fear was contagious. Louisa could feel herself fighting down waves of panic as gently she pushed back the woman's hair and then bundled her bloodstained clothing out of sight. 'You'll be all right, Katherine. You'll be fine.' She took her hands and held them firmly.

'And the baby? What about the baby? It's not due for two months!' Katherine burst into tears again. 'It's David's fault. He wouldn't listen. He would insist on coming to this G.o.d-forsaken country. I begged him not to, but he wanted to bring Venetia. He wanted to try and find a man for her.' She broke off with a catch in her breath before she could say any more, wailing with pain.

Louisa was still holding her hands tightly. As the next contraction started to build she could feel the clutch of Katherine's fingers tighter and tighter until her own bones were screaming in agony. There was a movement in the doorway. 'Here are the sheets.' Venetia stepped into the cabin and pushed them at her, averting her face from the woman on the divan.

'Keep them for later. Fetch a bowl of warm water and a wash cloth so we can sponge her.' Louisa glanced up at her. She was sorry for Venetia suddenly. No unmarried woman should see such a sight, especially if the baby was going to die. She bit her lip. Katherine was panting, quiet now between contractions, her face tear-stained and white. Louisa leant forward to sponge her forehead but already another pain was coming. 'It's your fault!' Suddenly Katherine was screaming in her face. 'If you hadn't come over and picked a fight with Carstairs this wouldn't have happened!' She clutched Louisa's hands more tightly. 'You shouldn't have come! Why did you?' She was panting frantically, sweat pouring down her face and body.

When the pain had pa.s.sed Louisa heard a noise at the door. She 342.

glanced round to see Mohammed hovering on the threshold. He had turned his head away to avoid looking directly into the saloon.

'Lady Forrester will not come, Sitt Louisa. She says she knows nothing of childbirth. Malees.h.!.+ No matter! I have brought a woman from the village who is wise in these things.'

Behind him a heavily veiled woman peered anxiously into the cabin. She had huge dark eyes which glanced shyly round above the veil and rested on Katherine with a frown of concern.

Louisa smiled at her, remembering Ha.s.san telling her that the wise women of the villages often had great knowledge of simple medicine and midwifery. Mohammed whispered to the woman quickly and she slipped into the cabin past him and approached Louisa with a bow.

'Do you speak English?' Louisa asked.

The woman shrugged. She was carrying a small basket which she put on the table near them.

Katherine grabbed Louisa's hand. 'Don't let her come near me!' She screamed. 'Dear G.o.d, I'm going to die and you bring me a native! Where is David? oh G.o.d!' With the door closed behind her the woman removed her cloak and veil. She was older than had first appeared and as she looked at Katherine she took stock of the situation at once. She nodded and moving forward placed a cool hand on Katherine's belly. L Katherine shrank back but the woman nodded and smiled.

'Good. Good,' she said. 'Baby good. Inshallah!'

'Send her away!' Katherine pushed at the woman's hand, but already the pains were coming again.

When the cabin door opened a few minutes later the three women standing around Katherine looked up. At first they could not see who stood there. Silhouetted against the night sky the figure was tall and dark and indistinguishable from the night around it. It was the village woman who recognised him first and she turned away with a moan, trying to hide her face. 'Roger? Is that you? What is it?' Venetia stood away from her sister-in-law with obvious relief as the village woman reached for her scarf and pulled it over her head and around her face.

'I have brought help.' He stooped and peered into the cabin. 'I have invoked the priest of Sekhmet. She is G.o.ddess of healing and with his help she will grant this woman succour!' His voice rang round the cabin.

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Katherine groaned. 'Get him away from me! Don't let him near me!' Her voice was hoa.r.s.e from screaming. She clung to Louisa. 'Don't let him come in!'

'You heard her! Don't come in. Keep your foul magic away from us!' Louisa looked up at him. 'You are not wanted in here!'

'Not even to save her life?' The sneering voice echoed round the room. 'Believe me, madam, only magic can save her!'

'Your kind of magic can do nothing for her! It is destructive, murderous magic!' Louisa shouted.

'Do you dare take the chance?' The voice was becoming more and more mocking. 'I think you had better let me come in.

'No!' Katherine's sobs became ever more hysterical. 'No, please, make him go away! David!' Her final scream was so shrill that the village woman forgot her fear of Carstairs. She placed her hand on Katherine's stomach and uttered a couple of incomprehensible instructions to Louisa, followed by a sequence of far more easily understood gestures as she tried to pull Katherine to her feet and indicated that she should squat, ready for the birth.